CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Commission has approved allowing medical cannabis dispensaries, growers and processors in the county.
The commission made the decision at its meeting last Thursday.
State code requires prospective business owners to go through the state Bureau for Public Health on receiving an application, but counties are allowed to vote on accepting medical cannabis.
Dr. Sherri Young, executive director and health officer with the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, said allowing medical marijuana is an economic opportunity.
“There’s a medical impact and a lot of things to consider for the community,” she said.
The Kanawha-Charleston Health Board wrote a letter to the state earlier this month expressing support for allowing medical cannabis businesses.
“The feeling among the Kanawha-Charleston Board of Health was that this was a good thing,” Young added.
The Raleigh and Greenbrier county commissions approved resolutions earlier this month allow cannabis businesses to operate. The state medical marijuana law went into effect in 2017.